How do you send a CD track by email?

Tony Palmer · Post by **Tony Palmer** » 31 Dec 2001 2:33 pm

Am I right that I have to convert it to an MP3 first?
If so, how do I do that? I've got Adaptec CD burner...does the software convert it?

Jim Palenscar · Post by **Jim Palenscar** » 31 Dec 2001 5:04 pm

There are a number of software products that convert .wav to .mp3 files. I'm not sure about Adaptec- check the help file looking for mp3. Shareware products are easily found on the web for doing this as well. It's usually no big deal- converts a 35 meg file to a 3.5 meg file so obviously a better format for sending e-mail.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 1 Jan 2002 4:40 am

I'm not sure if the older Adaptec software will "rip" a track from a CD. You may have to have some other software for that. Programs such as MusicMatchJukeBox and AudioGrabber are "rippers". I know AudioGrabber will convert to wav or mp3 and is what I use.

But, even a 3.5MB file is too big for some e-mail systems. Some will not accept that large a file. However, if you are using Outlook or Outlook Express there is an option to split the file into smaller segments (messages) and it will automatically reconstruct the messages into one at the recieve end.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 1 Jan 2002 7:31 am

But, even a 3.5MB file is too big for some e-mail systems. Some will not accept that large a file

Depending on the quality you need, you can convert the file at a much lower quality rate, which makes it much smaller. I have e-mailed people mp3s made at 16 kps instead of the CD-quality rate, when I just wanted them to hear how a tune goes, and it's really not too bad. Got a 3.5 MB songfile down to about 300KB so it would download in about 3 minutes on a 56K modem.

Doyle Huff · Post by **Doyle Huff** » 1 Jan 2002 7:55 am

Try going to "db power amp". They have a wav. to mp3 converter and I think it's a free download.

Tommy Mc · Post by **Tommy Mc** » 1 Jan 2002 11:17 am

I've tried a ton of these freeware ripper/converter/recorders.
db power amp is very good, I just don't care for the graphic interface. (or lack of it)
Exact Audio Copy or CDex orMP3 Workshop are also good choices. I have a comparison chart of their features here: http://www.angelfire.com/vt2/tommymc3/compare.html
Also, MusicMatch will do all this, it's just bloatware, if system resources are an issue.

mickd · Post by **mickd** » 1 Jan 2002 12:21 pm

When you save a WAV under BIAB (Vn10) it gives you various compression options so you can end up with a very small WAV file (e.g I just went from 3M to 192K).

Alternatively, you can skip the BIAB compression, and then convert the raw (big) WAV to an MP3 using an external program .
I just tried this (using Musicmatch)and it works fine.

So, you can end up with a small WAV file or a small MP3 file.

Which is better - or is it 6 of 1 and half dozen of the other ?
Mick[This message was edited by mickd on 01 January 2002 at 12:33 PM.]

Tommy Mc · Post by **Tommy Mc** » 1 Jan 2002 3:34 pm

micd;
I wonder how BIAB 'compresses' the .wav files? Six of one may not always equal a half dozen. From what I have read, .wav files don't compress much, at least not without throwing away some data. Click here for a description of how sound is sampled. MP3 also loses data, but selectively, so what is lost is not as perceptable to the human ear. Click here for a description about mp3.
There are different mp3 compression codecs, and some perform better than others. Musicmatch uses the Fraunhoffer codec, which is ok, but people say LAME is better. Most of the freeware I listed in my last post, give you options to use the encoder of your choice.
Jack, you mentioned Outlook's feature of file splitting. Winzip will also do this, although I haven't tried it. (I'm not sure how well a MP3 file will zip.) In either case, I wonder how smoothly the files are rejoined...I mean would you get a blip or skiped beat?

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 1 Jan 2002 3:57 pm

Neil Flanz has sent me some MP3 files that were split by Outlook Express and the MP3 was reassembled 100%, no glitches.

Zip won't compress an MP3 very much as it's already compressed. You can split them but it's more involved and the person on the other end must have the zip program.

mickd · Post by **mickd** » 2 Jan 2002 1:11 pm

Tommy
thanks for the links - thats useful info
Mick

Tommy Mc · Post by **Tommy Mc** » 3 Jan 2002 7:23 am

Tony Palmer · Post by **Tony Palmer** » 3 Jan 2002 9:35 am

Thanks, guys...I managed to accomplish what I needed, I converted a CD track to an MP3. The software created a new folder called My MP3 Files.
Now, to carry the process one step further, suppose I wanted to post a link to this MP3, which by the way, is a wonderful instrumental by Bobbe Seymour...a Harlan Howard tune "Above and Beyond".
Do I have to upload it to a website first?
(If you show me how to do it, you get to hear this great track!)

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 3 Jan 2002 11:02 am

You would have to have it on a server somewhere that people could access.

However, you have to be careful as putting someone else's recorded song on the internet that can be downloaded can be considered illegal.

Tony Palmer · Post by **Tony Palmer** » 3 Jan 2002 3:29 pm

Oops...never mind.

Bill Nauman · Post by **Bill Nauman** » 11 Jan 2002 8:14 am

Greetings from Las Vegas, I use music match and have found it to be very easy to use. you can set a custom bitrate of many values..16k is my default setting..you lose quality but who can wait for an hour to download a song from email? The program can rip cd tracks at the rate you want. Also can record raw wavs too ..The free version works ok for me..but the premium version is probably faster... www.musicmatch.com Bill in Vegas

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 20 Jan 2002 6:03 am

MusicMatch 6.0 is a $29 program with free upgrades. I would recommend buying the cheap beer this week and spending money on MM 6.0 . (Actually I think 7.0 is out now as well ) You can go back to the good beer next week. Many of the operating systems ( 2000 Pro and XP ) may have trouble with free download versions and many of the free download versions don't offer enough flexibility. You can never go wrong with
having the full install set in your posession. My opinion, MM is the top MP3 software package, it does it all from within it's own environment.

TP